


Steven Universe Farther Into the Future Episode 8: Rose's Birthday

by LMasterm1nd



Series: Steven Universe Farther into the Future [10]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Adulthood, Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Foreshadowing, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23134366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMasterm1nd/pseuds/LMasterm1nd
Summary: It is Rose's eighteenth birthday, she hears the story of how she was born, she spends the day partying with her friends and her girlfriend...but Rose overhears conversations about how immature she is for her age and decides that now that she's an adult she needs to act like one and prove to her family and to herself that she can be serious.
Relationships: Amethyst/Garnet/Pearl (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Garnet & Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe, Mystery Girl/Pearl (Steven Universe), Rose Quartz & Greg Universe
Series: Steven Universe Farther into the Future [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607287
Kudos: 15





	1. Story For Rose

It is midnight at the Universe Household. Steven began shifting in his sleep. Connie, while still sleeping, instinctively tightened her grip on Steven's wrist and he stopped shifting. This had been a lingering after effect of some childhood trauma of Steven's. These trauma's didn't surface until Steven had been in his late teens, and while a lot of those issues had been resolved, there was still a few weak lingering nightmares from that period of time that haunted him, since Steven usually sleeps with one arm around his wife, Connie took advantage of that and tightened her grip on his wrist to help weaken these nightmares. Of course as the years went by, these nightmares happened fewer and farther in between but once in a while they do happen. 

The peaceful slumber of Steven and Connie however got interrupted by a "Good morning!" by Rose. Steven and Connie both jolted awake. "Well, aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?" Rose asked. "Rose, It's twelve o'clock at night!" Steven said groggily. "Twelve o'clock at night is morning so it's not night anymore" Rose argued. "You're right about that Rose, but It's still too early, do you think you could just let us sleep for a couple more hours?" Connie asked. "Okay, sorry to interrupt!" Rose said before bolting out of the room. "Jeez, you think she'd know by now that 12am is too early..." Steven said, lying back down. "Oh, don't be like that, you love her" Connie said. "Yeah, I do..." Steven said before going back to sleep. 

Rose sat and waited in the living room, not only was it her birthday but she is now legally an adult, she was just too excited to go back to sleep. By 3:30 she noticed her Grandfather getting up. "Oh, sorry Grandpa, did I wake you?" Rose asked. "Nah, I usually get up at this time" Greg replied "I like to go a nearby diner for the Early Bird Breakfast Special, care to join me?" "Are you sure? I thought that was just for old people" Rose said. "No, It's for anybody, it just happens to be popular with old people, trust me, before I was rich, I relied on the Early Bird Breakfast Special a lot, I even took your father with me a lot back when he was really little" Greg explained. 

Rose excitedly followed Greg into his van. "It's funny, you're the only teenager I know who doesn't like to sleep in" Greg commented as he drove. "Not just any teenager, today I'm an adult!" Rose said. "Oh that's right, It's your birthday, congratulations Rose...wow, I can't believe you're an adult already, it feels like yesterday I was fueling up this van to come and meet you for the first time" Greg said fondly. "Oooh! I sense a story coming on!" Rose said. "Well, let's just wait until we get to the parking lot...oh rats, I forgot my guitar" Greg said, focusing on the road. "Oh, that's okay Grandpa, you don't need to have a song accompanying your stories all the time" Rose assured her grandfather. Greg simply giggled at that remark. "I wouldn't get off that easily with your father back when he was young, he wouldn't let me tell a single story without a song" Greg said. "That's a huge contrast to how grumpy Dad was this morning" Rose said. "Well, most people don't like to be waken up at midnight" Greg said, taking his son's side.

As Greg walked into the diner "Good morning Greg" The Waitress said "I see you bought your daughter with you." "No, she's my Granddaughter, Doris" Greg replied. "What? Nonsense, you don't look a day over fifty five" The Waitress said. As they waited for their meals, Greg began telling Rose the story of the day she was born.

* * *

*18 years ago*

It was noon when Greg was refueling the van. Greg was very excited when he got the phone call this morning. His son had been on his honeymoon for quite a while and now his wife was having a baby. Just than a square shaped shadow appeared in Greg's van. "Oh hi Garnet!" Greg called out. Garnet just stood there, with a big grin on her face "Uh...Garnet?" "I know where you're going" Garnet said, still grinning ear to ear. "Garnet, you're scaring me" Greg commented. All of the sudden, Garnet suddenly split into Ruby and Sapphire, Ruby jumped to Greg, grasping the collar of Greg's T-shirt. "The Baby, Greg, we know about The Baby!" Ruby shouted excitedly. "Um...Ruby" Sapphire called. Ruby than realized she had unfused from sapphire and quickly reformed Garnet. "Sorry, I've been doing that all day...I just can't keep myself together, I'm so excited!" Garnet said. "Well, I was just about to head to the hospital, you're free to join me, if you want" Greg offered. Garnet hopped into the passenger seat, she leaned over to honk the horn of Greg's van. "Come on! Hurry! Or I'm driving off without you!" Garnet called out. 

Greg started the van and they were on their way. Garnet was pretty much bouncing in her seat. "Wow Garnet, you're more excited than I am" Greg said. "I know...oooh...I just foresaw that the baby looked like...she's...she's..." Garnet began. "Hold up now, they had a girl?" Greg interrupted. "Oh, well they haven't had the baby yet but when it comes out, that's what it'll be, sorry for the spoiler" Garnet said, the grin growing wider. "Wow...I have a granddaughter now" Greg said with a single tear streaming down his cheek "I'll bet she'll be beautiful." "Better than beautiful....she'll be sooo..." Garnet said as her form started to dissipate back into Ruby and Sapphire. "CUTE!" Ruby said. "Okay! just pull yourselves together, we'll be there in a few minutes" Greg said. Ruby and Sapphire both giggled and remade Garnet yet again. 

At the Hospital Steven had greeted Greg and Garnet. "We'll, the baby's here" Steven said "we had a-" "Garnet spoiled that, we know you had a girl" Greg interrupted. "Sorry" Garnet said, blushing. "Well, if you want to meet her, she's up on the twelfth floor with Connie. Steven took Greg and Garnet up to the Connie's room. In Connie's arms was a newborn baby girl. "Greg, Garnet, come say hi!" Connie said. Greg and Garnet took a closer look at the new baby. "Oh, wow...she looks like so much Stevonnie" Garnet commented "just too adorable for words!" "Yeah she does, doesn't she? She is our baby after all" Steven bragged. "Would you like to hold her?" Connie asked Greg. Greg happily accepted the baby into his arms. The Baby took a hold of Greg's beard. "Yow! Awww, she takes after her father" Greg said. "I didn't tug on your beard like that" Steven said. "You did when you were her age" Greg shot back. "Hey Garnet, why don't you hold her next?" Greg offered. "Oh, I don't know, I'm worried I might drop her" Garnet said. "Garnet, you know you won't drop her" Greg insisted. "Of course I won't, I guess I'm worrying too much" Garnet said, happily accepting the baby. "I already love her" Garnet said, looking into the baby's eyes. "Hey, you never told us her name" Greg said. "Well..." Connie said "The thing is...Steven never got to know his mother, Rose, so I decided he'll have the rest of his life to get to know his daughter...Rose" Connie said. "You do know, Rose was a fake name my mom assumed, right?" Steven reminded Connie. "All the more reason to bring a real Rose into our new family" Connie said.

"So anyway, Garnet, me and Connie discussed it and, we want to move back into the beach house, if that's alright" Steven said. "Of course you can, we built that house for you after all" Garnet said "And Greg had the deed signed in your name, you were always welcome to come back." 

* * *

"Hold the phone!" Shouted Rose, interrupting Greg's story "My parents lived elsewhere than our house!" "Yep, pretty much" Greg said. "B-but that place has been my dad's house since it was first built!" "Well, for a while your parents lived in a small apartment as your mother did her post-grad work, when they were having you they decided to move out because it was too small" Greg explained.

* * *

*18 years and one week ago*

Garnet and Amethyst had invited Peridot, Lapis and Bismuth to the beach house. Pearl and her partner, Sabina had arrived with their son Joshua. "Sorry we're late everybody, this little one was playing in the mud and got his best shoes dirty" Pearl said. "Boys will be boys" Sabina remarked. "If you keep up that attitude, he'll never learn proper manners" Pearl said. "Are you sure you're the same pearl I met at that concert all those years ago?" Sabina joked. "Hey, little Joshua, is your Gem-mommy being boring?" Amethyst asked. "Yeah!" Joshua said. "I am not boring!" Pearl insisted. "Come on, let's play some of your uncle Steven's favorite video games" Amethyst said. "Yay!" Joshua said following Amethyst up the stairs. "Remember to stick to the "E" rated ones, Amethyst!" Pearl said. "You took to being a mom faster than I did, and I was the one who was pregnant with our kid" Sabina said. "Well, I did have a lot of practice" Pearl said, pointing to a picture of a younger Steven. 

"Oh, they're here!" Lapis said. "Thanks again for building that nursery" Garnet said to Bismuth. "Hah, it was nothing, you can take a Bismuth away from construction, but you can't take construction away from a Bismuth" Bismuth bragged "Besides, it was quicker to build than Little Homeworld."

Steven got out the car when he heard a very excited "Unca' Steven!" from Joshua. The than five year old, Joshua, hopped into Steven's arms. "Oh my Gosh, Joshua, look how big you've gotten!" Steven greeted warmly. Connie took Rose out of the car. "Joshua, this is our baby, Rose" Steven introduced. "Hi, Rose! Please grow up quick so we can play, sometime" Joshua said. "Steven, it's been so long!" Pearl said running up and hugging Steven. "Pearl! It's great to see you again" Steven said. "Come on, everyone's waiting inside" Pearl said grabbing Steven by the arm. "Surprise!" Peridot, Amethyst, Lapis and Bismuth all cried out. "Wow, a party!? You guys didn't have to do that" Steven said. Connie came in with the baby, all the gems surrounded the new Universe family. "We're home" Connie said to Steven. Just than something blocked out the sun. "Steven, It's us, The Diamonds!" White Diamond said. "We heard about the new baby Diamond!" Blue Diamond said. "Yeah...uh...I sort of...told them you were coming back" Pearl said. 

* * *

"Wow, all these people making a fuss over little ol' me?" Rose said, blushing. "Don't get a swelled head now, young lady" Greg said. "Joshua was so different back than" Rose commented. "Well, people change all throughout their lives, even gems, they may not age, but they do grow up" Greg said. "Oh! looks like our breakfast is ready" Rose said. "Here's to your birthday breakfast, my lady" Greg said, addressing his granddaughter like she was a princess.

End of Chapter one


	2. Birthday Party, Birthday Cake, Birthday Presents.... and Birthday Self Reflections?

*Homeworld, Lost City*

Pink Diamond's original pearl had been visiting Carbon a lot recently ever since meeting him, learning about the culture of Homeworld before the Diamond Empire rose. All of the sudden she felt a tapping on her shoulder. "Hey! There you are!" Spinel said "not that you're not allowed or nothin' but, I've been wondering where you've been going back and fourth every week." "Oh, Spinel...I was just coming down here to visit somebody, would you like to come?" Pink Pearl answered. Spinel happily nodded, intrigued by the old buildings. "Hey, that statue..." Said Spinel pointing to an old statue "It looks...human." Pink Pearl looked at the statue Spinel was pointing at, and it looked like a younger Carbon holding a gemstone in his hands, there was an inscription on the statue written in Gem Glyph: "Carbon Labs, The power of magic and technology for the good of us all". Pink Pearl couldn't help but feel a sense of irony and guilt reading it, as Carbon's invention caused the fall of his own people, even if without it she wouldn't exist.

Spinel picked up a fossilized human like skull. "Heya Pearl! Ain't ya a sight for sore eye-holes!" Spinel said, moving the skulls jaw like it was a ventriloquist's dummy. "S-Spinel, tha-ha-hat's disrespectful" Pink Pearl said, trying to hold back her laughter. "Than why are ya laughin'?" Spinel said. "We're almost there, come on" Pink Pearl said, not wanting to admit Spinel's gag was kind of funny. Pink Pearl led Spinel through the ruined city. "All these skeletons look like they were running away from something" Spinel said. "It was probably gems" Pink Pearl said. "What!?" Spinel exclaimed. "This is actually where Era-1 began" Pink Pearl said. Eventually they had reached the dome where Carbon lived. A drone flew down to greet them. "Ah...Pearl, I see you've bought a friend with you, come in, come in" Carbon's voice announced. 

Inside the dome, Carbon greeted Pink Pearl like an old friend. "Spinel, this is Carbon, I once met him when me and Piers slipped and fell down here" Pink Pearl said. "So, you've just been sitting here before than?" Spinel asked. "Yes, since Era-1" Carbon said. "Woah, that's longer than I was alone, well, at least you had a comfy chair to sit in" Spinel said. "It was until I started developing hemorrhoids" Carbon responded "But those went away when I replaced my hindquarters." "You replaced your own butt!? That's kind of cheeky" Spinel said. Carbon began making gasping noises. "It has been a countless amount of years since I last laughed" Carbon said with a smile on his face. "So, you've been sitting down here for billions of years, huh? Well, I could stand on my hands for 7000 years" Spinel said. "I can stand on one hand" Carbon shot back, hopping onto one mechanical arm. 

* * *

It was now 9:00 am in Beach City and Rose was ecstatic. "I'm an adult!" she cheered as she ran throughout the city. "Hey, Mr. Onion! I'm a grown up now!" Rose said to her girlfriend's stepfather. Onion took off his black ski mask and gave her a thumbs up. "Joshua! Did you here the big news!?" Rose called out to Pearl's son. "Yeh, I heard, I'll be at da party latah today, congrats on reachin' adulthood" Joshua said "I hope ya prepared yerself fer adulthood." "See ya later, I hope you bring a present" Rose said while she ran off. 

Back at the house, Connie and Steven were looking at Steven's phone, watching a video from when Rose was ten. In the video Rose and Steven were making dinner together. "Rose, what are you doing?" Steven said in the video. "I'm prepping the noodles to be broiled" the ten year old Rose said. "We don't broil the noodles, we boil them" The early thirties Steven said. "Which one was that again?" Ten .Y.O. Rose said. "The one with water" 34 year old Steven replied.

Rose got up to the front door and overheard her parents. "I can't believe that little girl is a woman now" Rose overheard Connie saying. "I know, appearances aside, she hasn't changed a bit" Steven answered. Rose was taken aback by that remark, but shrugged it off, hoping it was a misunderstanding. Rose walked in the house. "Oh, hey sweetie, happy birthday!" Connie greeted. "So how was your special "birthday breakfast" with Grandpa?" Steven asked. "How did you know about that?" Rose asked. "Dad called me on the drive back, he says he really appreciates you spending time with him like that" Steven said. 

Suddenly, Rose was caught off guard by a surprise hug from Garnet. "Auntie Garnet!" Rose cheered. "Good morning and happy birthday little Rosie" Garnet said "I hope your ready for all the fun your parents planned for today!" "Heck Yeah, I am, I'm an adult now, I'm gonna party like one" Rose said "I'm gonna drink beer and everything!" "You're not old enough for that quite yet, but you can vote" Steven said "especially for a certain someone running for mayor, perhaps?" "Oh, Steven, don't try to coerce a vote from daughter, she can vote for whoever she wants" Connie said. Mayor Nanafua, after many years on the job had finally decided to retire and this election year, the position is up for grabs and Steven decided to throw his own hat into the ring. 

By eleven thirty, Rose's birthday party was underway. Rose didn't have many friends her own age, except for her girlfriend. However, Bismuth, Peridot and Lapis made it. "Congrats on being eighteen years old, short stuff" Bismuth said "apparently being alive that long is a bit of a milestone for you humans." "She may be short to you, but not from where I'm standing" Peridot commented. "I remember when she was so small, even you could hold her in your hands" Lapis added. 

"Hey sis, I got you a present" Piers said. Rose rushed towards Piers at that remark. Piers recoiled slightly. He was still a bit shaken up from when Jasper forced him into becoming Heliotrope with her. "Oooh sorry, I forgot about the whole Heliotrope thing" Rose said "so what did you get me!?" "I got you a rock" Piers said with a chuckle. "No way! A rock!? Awesome!" Rose said excitedly. "That was a joke gift" Piers explained "this is your real gift." Piers gave her a small gold statue depicting Rose. "Oh my gosh! This is just like the Omar Awards!" Rose said. "Wow, I can't believe she thought a rock was her present" Steven commented. "You were pretty excited by the rock I gave you" Garnet said. "Yeah, but I was a kid back than, I'm not that easily excited anymore" Steven said. This remark caught Rose's attention. For some reason it bothered her, but she couldn't understand why. "Hey babe" Selena said "I know you said I didn't need to bring you anything but I did anyway" Selena said "but if you want it, you'll have to kiss me first!" "Oooh...sounds like the price I have to pay is the gift" Rose commented before kissing her girlfriend. Unbeknownst to Rose, her dad and Garnet were continuing their conversation. "I know you're not as easily excited anymore but I'm just saying, she takes so much after you, It's kind of cute" Garnet said. "Yeah...It kind of is" Steven admitted.

On the couch, Connie was talking with her mother, looking at Rose's childhood photos. "Oh my gosh, Mom, you have to see this one" Connie said, pointing at a photo. Dr. Maheswaran began laughing. "Oh, I remember this, you did the same thing with my makeup when you were little" said Dr. Maheswaran. "When Rose tries to apply her makeup by herself, it still ends up like this!" Connie said, giggling "whenever she has to put makeup on, I still do it for her!" Both Connie and her mother were laughing by that point. "Is that what everyone really thinks of me?" Rose thought to herself "Am I just an adult in body only...?" yet again, Rose wasn't listening to the whole conversation. "So yeah, she hardly ever uses makeup" Connie said. "I wished I looked that good without cosmetics" Dr. Maheswaran complimented.

After the party, Rose lied in her bed looking at the ceiling, quotes she overheard over the day echoed through her mind "I hope yer prepared for adulthood" "appearances aside, she hasn't changed a bit" "That was when I was a kid, **I'm not that easily excited anymore** " "Whenever she has to put makeup on, **I still have to do it for her** " afterwards the laughter of her family filled at her head. "Not anymore" Rose muttered. "I'll show them I can be grown up, Rose Stevonnie Universe is a kid no more, I'm going to show them I'm an adult, from now on, this woman is only going to dress casual on fridays!"

end of chapter 2


	3. Rose the Adult

Rose leaped out of bed, ready to face the world, she had been an adult for twenty four hours and today was the day she started making changes with her life. She started by getting rid of her teen stuff. Ripping posters of her favorite shows but decided to keep anime style portrait of her and Selena that she was given by Selena last night. Her favorite action figures she decided to toss out into the trash, and instead of wearing her usual style she opted for a more professional looking outfit, from her mothers old hand me downs. 

Steven and Connie were at the breakfast table when they noticed Rose's new look. "Oh, good morning Rose, what's with the get-up?" Steven asked. "Oh Father dearest, I have no time for idle chatter I must be going to school by now" Rose said trying to sound mature. "Is she wearing a pair of my old glasses?" Connie asked Steven. "Is it the pair that still has the lenses in them?" Steven said. Rose than smacked into a window, mistaking it for the door. "Yep, definitely the ones with the lenses still in" Connie answered. "I'm oookaaay" Rose said.

At school, Rose's new demeanor caught the attention of many, Selena even thought Rose was being weird. During class Rose raised her hand and said "The sum of the square root of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side." The whole class began laughing. "Rose, this is history class" Selena whispered. Rose put her hand back down, blushing. Later at lunch Rose and Selena were sitting at the lunch table in the corner of the cafeteria. "Rose, what was that back in class? you normally pay more attention than that." Selena asked. "Oh how sweet of you to worry about me deary, but I am fine" Rose answered in a smug sounding voice "I am an adult after all." "And that's another thing, what's with the attitude?" Selena continued. "Attitude? What attitude, I am merely asserting my maturity" Rose said "you'll understand when you're older sweetie." Selena was starting to get annoyed at that point, she did not appreciate her girlfriend talking down to her like that. "Okay Rose, I do not like the way you're talking to me" Selena said. "Oh come now, don't be like that, this is just how adults are, I have no time act childish and silly, this may be fine for you but not appropriate for me" Rose said, sounding conceited. Selena slammed her fist on the table "That's It!" Selena shouted "Rose, I don't know what's going on, but until you get that attitude of yours in check, we're through!" Selena stormed out of the cafeteria. Rose didn't know what to say, she was totally stunned, Selena never talked to her like that before. She just sat there with her jaw dropped, as she began glowing pink and causing the florescent tube light bulbs in the room to shatter into dust.

Rose arrived home not saying anything. "Hey Rose" Her father called out "Me and your brother here are just about to start up Ultra Bash Brethren Unlimited, why don't you grab a controller and join us?" "No thanks" Rose said glumly as she trailed off. "Rose, is something wrong?" Steven asked. "I'm fine, just tired, don't worry about it" Rose insisted. "Okay...but just remember, if something is wrong, you can talk to me, you're never too old to ask your parents for guidance, both me and your mother are here for you no matter how old you get" Steven said. Rose sat in her bed, trying to convince herself that she'd be just fine without Selena. "She was just being immature, that's all, I don't need her" Rose thought to herself "but if that's true than why do I feel like crap?"

The next morning, Steven couldn't shake Rose's unusual behavior off, he knew something was wrong with her, but he didn't know what. He knocked on Rose's door. "Hey, Rose, I was going to wait until you were ready to talk but...I'm just too worried to wait" Steven said "Rose, you can't fool me, something's bothering you, I need you to tell me what that is, when I was around your age, I had problems and I didn't talk about them and well...let's just say they made a turn for the worse, so please, just talk to me." Steven walked into Rose's room, her bed appeared empty. "Rose...is this a setup for one of your surprise attacks?" Steven said, looking up at her ceiling. Steven looked under her bed, and than in her closet, she wasn't anywhere. "Connie, is Rose out there with you?" Steven asked. "Nope, she's still sleeping" Connie answered. "No...no she's not, she's not anywhere in her room" Steven called back. "Than she's probably in the bathroom" Connie concluded. "That's impossible I was just in there" Steven said, beginning to sound more worried. Connie went into Rose's room with him and they both noticed that the window was open. "You go search the diamond base on the third floor, I'll check the town" Steven said. "Got it" Connie answered.

* * *

Rose was not anywhere in Beach City but rather Empire City. "Look out world of big business, here's Rosie!" Rose declared. She took the bus to Empire City, it was at early hours prices so it made travel cheaper. She proudly marched in the biggest office building she could find. "Excuse me, miss, do you work here?" The woman at the front desk asked. "Yes...?" Rose answered. "Name please?" The woman at the front desk asked. Rose glanced around nervously and saw a picture of a robin behind the front desk. "My name is Robin..." Rose said, looking around and spotting a picture of a wolf next to the picture of the robin "Wolf! Robin Wolfe!" "Robin Wolfe, the new c.e.o?" The Woman at the front desk asked in disbelief. "Um...yes!" Rose lied. "Oh welcome, Ms. Wolfe, you weren't supposed to be here until next Monday, and might I say you look pretty young for a woman in her sixties" The woman at the front desk greeted. "Oh, yeah...I get that a lot" Rose lied.

Rose was taken to the top floor to a corner office. The office was big and extravagant, Rose sat down at her desk. "Wow, my first day at work and I'm already a c.e.o" Rose said "I don't even have to work, man, these c.e.os have got it made, money for nothing and paychecks tax free, at least that's what I see on TV and TV has never lied." All of the sudden a lot of men and woman dressed professionally barged into her office. They all started talking to her really fast. "Woah, woah, slow down...one at a time please" Rose said. "Madam, we need to wonder how we should proceed of our takeover of the Chaaps corporation" One executive said. "Don't forget you have to facetime with the president of Grintendo about the new promotion we're running for them" Another executive said. The executives kept telling Rose things she didn't understand and placing paperwork on her desk. "Hold on, you can't expect me to do all this! It's my first day!" Rose said. All the executives began laughing. "What a great impression of the faceless cogs on the fifth floor" An executive said "That's our new c.e.o for you, always boosting moral with humor." 

Rose was lead around different parts of the building, signing her fake name on various documents and talking to complete strangers. "Mind if I stepped in to use the woman's room for a bit?" Rose asked. "Sure thing, madam, the executive bathroom is down the hall and to the left" An executive answered. Rose rushed into the bathroom, she needed a break and it was getting too crowded for her liking. She went to the sink and leaned forward against it, she than looked into the mirror and her reflection looked wrong. There were so many grey hairs where there weren't any before, crows feet under her eyes...Rose than looked at her chest. "MY GIRLS!" Rose cried in horror "what happened to my girls!? They used be bouncy, why are they saggy!?...Oh no, am I turning old!?" Rose began panicking, she was turning old. "This can't be happening...I'm supposed to be eighteen, not eighty" Rose said "wait, Dad once told me about a situation like this happening to him..." Rose remembered her father telling her about the time he almost turned old and died. "Now, this may not happen to you" Her memory of her father said "but if this were to happen to you, the one thing you need to do is..." But that memory of her father was interrupted by a memory of her girlfriend in her gym outfit "Wow this is so comfy" Rose's memory of Selena said "It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all." The words "nothing at all" echoed in her mind as the mental image of Selena in her gym clothes got closer and closer. "Stupid sexy Selena!" Rose cried out "I miss you..."

By three pm she had to give an important board meeting. Luckily one of the executives had put together the slide show for her, it showed a graph full of numbers and pie charts she didn't understand. "Err...as you can see...numbers...are good" Rose improvised "but not good enough, they need to better so we can...make more money!" The boardroom executives all clapped their hands. Cries of "Amazing!" and "She's a genius!" stormed the rooms. Just than a stern looking woman entered the room with two tough looking security guards. "And just who are you?" An executive said. "I am Robin Wolfe, the c.e.o." the woman said. "But if you're Mrs. Wolfe than who's this...Young Lady!?" The executive exclaimed. Rose looked into the reflective surface of the table and saw that she was eighteen again. "I want this impostor out of here!" Mrs. Wolfe demanded. "I'll escort myself out" Rose said "stealing your job was draining the life out of me, I'm so sorry!" Rose rushed out of the boardroom cheering as she did. Rose took one last look in the mirror. "My girls! They're back to normal" Rose cheered "Oh my wondrous, bouncy girls, I'll never take you two for granted!" 

Rose wandered through the streets and looked at all the local businesses. "Maybe I wasn't cut out for working as an adult, maybe I should have fun as an adult and do all the things I have access to!" Rose said. Overhearing Rose was a fat balding man. This balding man was once the rich teenage jerk Kevin. "So this is Steven and Connie's daughter" Kevin said "Well, they ruined my party and are the reason I lost my job, It's Kevin's revenge time!"

End of Chapter 3


	4. A Growing Rose

"Okay...so I wasn't ready for the world of big business" Rose said "But, you know what? Now that I'm eighteen I can do things I couldn't before." Rose saw a big building that said "Adults Only XXX" "Oh wow, that's me!" Rose said. Rose presented her ID to the bouncer who than let her inside. But that's when she noticed what was going on inside this building. People on stages were taking off their clothes and performing pole dances. "Hey, wait a minute" Rose commented "wait a minute! This strip club doesn't have any emergency exits! I'm outta here!" Rose rushed out the building in a hurry. 

Rose than spied a regular old dance club. This club even had a fire exit. The dance club was very well spread out, there was the odd crowd here and there but nothing too big, but Rose wasn't bothered by that, ever since saving her girlfriend during the road trip she went on with her family, crowds don't bother Rose as much they used to, she hadn't gotten over her fear but she tolerated being in a crowd a lot more than she used to. Rose went to the bar "Excuse me, bartender, I'd like to order a beer please" Rose said. "ID miss?" The Bartender answered. Rose showed the bartender her ID. "Sorry miss, I can't serve you alcohol yet" The Bartender said. "But I'm eighteen, I'm old enough to be in here aren't I?" Rose said. "Yes, you are old enough to be here but you're not old enough to drink, I know it doesn't make sense but I don't make the law" The Bartender said before mixing a red drink and handing it to Rose "Here, It's a Shirley Temple, non-alcoholic, It's on the house" Rose accepted the drink and took it to an empty booth. "Being an adult is confusing" Rose said "maybe everyone was right, maybe I'm not cut out for this."

Rose took a sip of her Shirley Temple, it was quite good but not enough to lift her spirits. "Why so glum, chum?" An obese bald man said. "Just...well...you see" Rose said "recently I turned eighteen and..." "Adulthood's not what you thought it was going to be?" The man asked. "Well yeah, I'm old enough for somethings but not everything..." Rose said. "I hear ya, the name's Kevin, what's yours?" Kevin asked. "Rose" "Well Rose, how about I order you a beer?" Kevin asked. "But I'm not old enough" Rose said. "You're not old enough to buy it, but I am so let me buy"

* * *

Steven picked his phone and called Connie. "Hey, any luck on your end?" Steven asked. "No, and I take it you haven't found her either?" Connie answered. "Unfortunately, I checked some of her favorite hangouts: The Amusement Park, The Arcade, The Pride District, everywhere!" Steven said. "Well, I checked Little Homeworld and no gem saw her...I called her girlfriend to see if she could help...she said that Rose had been acting strange yesterday" Connie said. "Now that you mention it, she was dressed in the clothes you wore to your job interview" Steven said "and come to think of it...there was something off about her room...aside from her not being in it." 

Steven went back to his home and began investigating Rose's bedroom. He noticed that some of her favorite posters aside from the one her girlfriend made for her was not on the wall, some of her plush toys weren't around either. Steven looked into Rose's closet and noticed a trash bag full of her favorite possessions. Bit by bit Steven began to piece something together. "Could Rose have misheard a few things during birthday party...Oh no! What if she turned old and...no! I can't give up hope!" Steven said to himself.

* * *

"Here you go" Kevin said, giving Rose a bottle. "My first beer...awesome!" Rose said, she took a swig, paused for a moment than spat it out. "Eugh! That was awful! This is supposed to be addictive!? Gross!" Rose said, taking a sip of her Shirley Temple to wash out the taste of the beer. "It's an acquired taste, go on, take another sip...and don't spit it out" Kevin said. "No thanks, I'm glad I'm not old enough to drink, that was disgusting" Rose said "but thanks for buying it for me, so why don't you tell me about yourself, was it hard when you became an adult?" "Not in the beginning..." Kevin said "My scumbag dad kicked me out because I was being a "layabout" or something so I had to work at my uncle's hotel." "Working at a hotel doesn't sound so bad" Rose said. "Are you kidding? It was the worst, It was, work, work, work, day in and day out, who needs that?" Kevin said. "That just sounds like an average every day job to me, I don't see the big deal" Rose said. "You'll find out when you get a job" Kevin said.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Kevin said "What's a pretty face like yours doing in a place like this?" "Well...on my eighteenth birthday party I overheard my family joking about how I'm not mature enough to be an adult" Rose said "I came here to prove to everyone and myself that I can be an adult but...It's not working out." "Hey, these things take time...you got a place to stay tonight or are you just going home" Kevin asked. "I can't go home, not until I prove I can make it as an adult!" Rose asserted. "Hey, Hey, That's the spirit" Kevin said "and if you haven't got a place to stay...you're more than welcome to stay at mine" Kevin offered. "Hmmm...a complete stranger offering me to stay at his place..." Rose said "That's awesome!"

Across the street in a small apartment building Kevin unlocked the door. "It ain't much, but it's home" Kevin said. Rose looked around and saw cereal bowls that were left out for weeks. "You uh, should really do some cleaning" Rose said. "Ah, when I get the money, I'll hire a cleaning lady" Kevin said. "Okay, but I can clean if you'd like" Rose offered "so, where do I sleep?" "Bedroom" Kevin said. Rose looked into the bedroom which was relatively the cleanest room in the house. "So...where will you sleep?" Rose asked. "In here" Kevin said. "What?" Rose asked. "You clearly don't now what's going on...I like that" Kevin said as he unbuttoned his shirt. Rose than knew what he meant and what he intended to do. "Whoa, hold on now, I think you may have gotten the wrong message, you see, I like girls..." Rose said. "Doesn't matter to me, you're here with me, and this is going to happen whether you like it or not" Kevin said. "Nope! I'm out!" Rose said, rushing past Kevin to the front door, but it couldn't open. "It's a two way lock...It'll only open with a key from inside and out" Kevin said. Rose turned and saw that Kevin was holding a gun. "I told you...this was happening whether you like it or not" Kevin bragged. Deep within Rose a surge of adrenaline was starting to grow. "I know who your parents are, kid" Kevin said "I know who they are together and you look so much like her...and they ruined my party...and because of them I lost my job, and I'm just trying to make things fair." "P-please don't" Rose said, with tears welling up. Kevin moved in closer, and with each step he took, the adrenaline building up deep inside Rose was growing, and when he got close enough, Rose started glowing pink. "What the...?" Kevin said. "NO MEANS NO!" Rose shouted as she kicked him in the groin, he fell to his knees, cradling his groin. With what remained of the adrenaline she forced the door open and ran out as fast as she could. 

Rose kept running but tripped. Rose began sobbing. "I wasn't ready for this, any of this...I-I just want to go home" Rose said "I want Selena back..." "Rose?" a familiar voice said. "Selena!?" Rose said. She quickly got to her feet and hugged Selena. "Oh Selena, I'm sorry, please take me back, I was just trying to act more grown up, I didn't want you to break up with me" Rose pleaded. "Rose, we didn't break up, I just needed space because of that act, why did you go all the way here?" Selena asked. "I-I wanted to prove myself as an adult but things went wrong" Rose said "I stole someone's job and that made me an old lady with saggy tits and than a fat bald guy who looked like Hector Sampson tried to force me to sleep with him and-" "Wait, did you say someone tried to rape you!?" Selena said "Rose, this is serious, we've got to report this to the police, come on, I'll show you to the nearest police station." "Wh-what are you doing here?" Rose asked. "Your parents called me and Garnet told me you'd be here and that it'd be best if I found you" Selena explained.

* * *

Selena drove Rose home. She told her parents exactly what had transpired. Rose's parents both hugged Rose and comforted her, while Piers made Rose some hot cocoa ("Grind Me" Style). "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to worry you" Rose said, fighting back her tears. "You've been through a lot today Rose, so we're not going to punish you" Steven said "But please, just don't do that again." "I-I won't, I love you Mom and Dad" Rose said before sobbing. 

Meanwhile at The Hospital, Kevin was laying down with a huge cast on the pelvic area. "Well, the good new is your pelvis should recover" Dr. Maheswaran said "however, there is no way to put the bad news gently...they're gone." "W-what's gone?" Kevin asked. "Remember where the impact was?" Dr. Maheswaran asked. "Wait, you don't mean...my...my" Kevin stuttered "NOOOO!" Suddenly, Dr. Maheswaran's phone began ringing. "Oh, I have to take this, do you mind?" Dr. Maheswaran asked. "Do what you want, I'm half a man now..." Kevin said in utter defeat. "Hello? Oh you found her, that's wonderful!" Dr. Maheswaran said happily on the phone, but suddenly she looked horrified "What happened to her!?" suddenly Dr. Maheswaran began angrily glaring at Kevin "Oh, I see...well I have a patient I need a word with." "Uh...doc?" Kevin asked nervously. "So...you thought you could try to have your way with my granddaughter, huh?" Dr. Maheswaran said in a furious tone. "I'm going to jail aren't I?" Kevin assumed. "Oh no, you're staying here until your pelvis heals" Dr. Maheswaran said. Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. "And then you'll go to jail" Dr. Maheswaran said "and after that, you'll get the bill."

All of the sudden the sound of a portal opening could be heard from outside the room. "Where is he!?" Steven's voice demanded. "Hold on one moment" Dr. Maheswaran said. Dr. Maheswaran stepped outside, for a few moments there was silence interrupted by Steven's laughter. "Seriously? That's how my daughter fended him off!?" Steven's voice said. A few moments later Dr. Maheswaran reentered the room. "Protecting you from my son-in-law, is going to be another hundred added to your bill, I hope you have good insurance"

* * *

Back at the Beach House, Rose was being led into the Beach House's basement by her father. "So, what did you want to show me, Dad?" Rose asked. "You'll see" Steven said. Steven opened a door and turned on the light. It was a room Rose had never seen before. "Dad, are these action figures? Do you like collect them?" Rose asked. But Rose noticed something, the action figures were out of their original packaging, these weren't collectibles. "Rose, this is embarrassing to admit, but because of why you ran off like that I think it's best to show you this" Steven said "This is my..."play room" long ago when I was sixteen, I went to see a therapist because of some childhood trauma, he told me to reconnect with my childhood and this is how I've been doing it." "Dad, I've had no idea" Rose said. "Don't tell your mother about this, not even she knows about it, she doesn't even know I had this basement built" Steven said. "Dad, why are you showing me this?" Rose said. "I'm showing you this to make a point" Steven said "That It's okay to be immature once in a while, yes there are many things you can be too old for but it's okay to have at least one interest that most would consider juvenile." "Wow, Dad, I can't believe you would reveal such a secret to me like that just to help me" Rose said. "Well, you're my daughter Rose, I love you" Steven said, offering Rose a hug that Rose immediately accepted. "Thanks, dad" 

The End


End file.
